IPL as it happened: KKR beat RCB by five wickets

Click here for live scorecard. KKR have beaten RCB by five wickets. 1926: In case you thought RCB would hit back with an incredible last over, then that hasn’t happened. Doeschate follows up Bhatia’s single by lobbing the bowler for four to finish the match with four balls to spare. 1924: Four! And that should calm the nerves a bit. Doeschate takes a risk trying to clear mid-on, but manages to get enough bat on it for four vital runs. One over to go and KKR need five runs to win. 1917: Wicket! Tiwary c Kohli b Vinay Kumar 24 (27b, 3x4, 0x6): Oh blip in the chase? Tiwary’s been taken at cover and KKR are just making it hard for themselves. 1910: Wicket! Kallis c Henriques b Mithun 41 (45b, 4x4, 0x6): It wasn’t helter-skelter hitting, but it was a fine innings from Kallis. It didn’t need to be a cracking one and he just needed to stick around till KKR weathered the early storm. He’s done it, but pays the price for trying to clear the on-side. It’s 96-4 after 16.4 overs. 1900: No boundaries in the last two overs, but KKR are surely easing towards a win. Kallis is stuck on the crease and it’s going to be hard to dismiss him. Tiwary has settled in well too. It’s 85-3 after 15 overs. 1850: Tiwary wants to get this over with as soon as possible. He’s come on and smashed a couple of fours — over mid-on and straight over the bowler on the other occasion. KKR look set for a win at Ranchi. It’s 74-3 after 13 overs. 1840: Wicket! Pathan lbw b Kartik 18 (16b, 1x4, 1x6): Promising start from Yusuf, and that’s as good as it gets. Maybe a bit unlucky there, but Yusuf is walking after missing his sweep shot. You really trusted him to finish this match though… KKR are 61-3 after 10.3 overs. 1835: It’s a no-risk agenda from KKR. They don’t really need to take them too. Pathan and Kallis have cracked a four each and till that happens every couple of overs, KKR will ease past the finishing line. It’s 61-2 after 10 overs. 1826: Six! Pathan’s hit one over long-on… and that is huge! It promises a lot, but KKR will hope the big man takes them all the way today. It’s 46-2 after eight overs, and KKR are looking pretty comfy. 1815: Wicket! Gambhir c Gayle b Vinay Kumar 14 (15b, 3x4, 0x6): Oh that’s a blow for KKR. Gambhir has had a pretty good season with the bat so far, and is gone now – taken at slip. It’s a thick edge and Gambhir is walking back dejected. KKR 31-2 after 5.5. overs. 1807: Fours! Gambhir decides to quicken this chase. He’s smacked a boundary through point before targetting the cover region. He decides to make it a hat-trick, and swats another one through the off-side. KKR are 22-1 after four overs. 1802: Three overs gone, and KKR haven’t made the sort of explosive start that would guarantee a quick finish. Instead, it’s just 10-1, with a fumbled four through fine-leg from Tiwary to help them on their way. 1750: Wicket! Bisla c Henriques b Rampaul 0 (2b): Nightmare start for KKR! Bisla goes for the cut-shot, doesn’t quite middle it and it’s straight to Henriques at point. KKR are 0-1 after an over, with Rampaul striking on the 2nd ball of the innings. KKR need 116 runs to beat RCB. 1735: The last over fetches just six runs. RCB finish at 115-9 after 20 overs. 1732: Wicket! Kartik b Balaji 0 (1b): Embarrassing, this. Kartik is now gone and Balaji is turning out to be a gem of a bowler in the latter half of the IPL league stage. It’s 112-9 after 19.4 overs 1727: Wicket! Mithun c Manoj Tiwary b Narine 2 (2b): Mithun wants to be the hero – he goes for the slog-sweep and is taken with ease at long-on. Tiwary again! It’s 108-8 after 18.4 overs. 1725: Wicket! Rampaul lbw b Narine 0 (3b): Duck! Rampaul goes for the sweep-shot and Narine’s confusing delivery catches him plumb in front of the stumps. RCB are 106-7 after 18.2 overs. 1720: Wicket! Henriques c Manoj Tiwary b Kallis 11 (11b): Woho! KKR are enjoying this, aren’t they? Henriques has no option but to smack the ball. He does it and is caught by Tiwary’s safe pair of hands. RCB are 102-6 after 17.1 overs. 1715: Wickets! De Villiers c Bisla b Balaji 28 (22b, 1x4, 1x6) Saurabh Tiwary lbw b Narine 1 (3b) This is a landslide! Balaji and Narine strike in quick succession and RCB look like they’ll be in trouble. If KKR eventually win this one, then they may have a shy at one of those playoff spots. This is insane stuff – De Villiers gone after a top edge playing the reverse sweep and Tiwary was haplessly caught in front of the stumps. 1710: Tell you what, 15 overs gone and RCB haven’t even crossed the 100-run mark. Unless AB de Villiers can conjure some magic today, this one’s headed for a quick end. It’s 84-3 after 15 overs, and it seems the KKR fielders are enjoying the lack of action. 1700: Wicket! Gayle stumped by Bisla! That was very smart from Bisla, and he should take full credit for dismissing the big man. We’ve seen Gayle get off to slow starts before going on a rampage – but today, he just didn’t get going. RCB are 70-3 after 13.1 overs. 1655: This is hard to believe! Gayle and AB de Villiers in the middle, but it’s still mighty slow out there in Ranchi. Someone has to start firing from all cylinders unless they want this to be a low-scoring affair. RCB are 70-2 after 13 overs. 1645: Yusuf’s been brought into the attack now, and his first over is pretty impressive. It’s surprising to see Gayle score just 27 runs from 29 balls. What is happening out there–is it the calm before a storm? After 11 overs, RCB are 57-2. 1635: Wicket! Kohli b Kallis 17 (14b, 2x4): Oh inside edge and gone! Kallis exults, and the RCB skipper is walking. In the previous over, Gayle casually slapped a six over the bowler. RCB are 46-2 after 8.4 overs. 1625: It’s been slow, very slow if you consider that Kohli and Gayle are in the middle. Credit to the KKR bowlers for keeping them quiet… they’ve offered the batsmen no room to manoeuvre. For the moment, it’s just ones and twos for them. Kohli has squeezed in a fine drive among those annoyingly disciplined deliveries. RCB are 28-1 after seven overs. 1617: Wicket! Pujara c Balaji b Senanayake 5 (14b, 0x4, 0x6): The pressure was building and comes down the track and plays a flaky shot. The thick edge is high and easy for Balaji to take. RCB are 15-1 after 4.3 overs. 1610: Gayle, known for his raw hitting, has caressed a boundary through third-man. Slightly risky that, just evading the man at slip. It’s 11-0 after three overs. 1602: Senanayake starts off the proceedings, and he’s kept it tight in the 1st over – only three runs from it. KKR XI: M Bisla, G Gambhir, J Kallis, R ten Doeschate, Y Pathan, M Tiwary, D Das, R Bhatia, S Senanayake, S Narine, L Balaji RCB XI: C Pujara, C Gayle, V Kohli, M Henriques, AB de Villiers, S Tiwary, V Kumar, R Rampaul, A Mithun, M Kartik, J Unadkat Kolkata have won the toss and will bowl first. Preview: Inching closer to a playoff berth, Royal Challengers Bangalore will face an inconsistent Kolkata Knight Riders, who would be eyeing revenge, when the two sides clash in the city`s first Pepsi IPL game at the Jharkhand Cricket Association`s International stadium on Sunday. It is exactly a month since the two teams clashed in Bangalore where Chris Gayle blew away KKR with a 50-ball 85 that was laced with nine sixes. [caption id=“attachment_774309” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Both teams will go into the match high on confidence winning their last games. BCCI[/caption] Riding on Gayle’s brilliance and some other notable performers, RCB are among the top-four in the points table while KKR are languishing in the bottom half. Both teams will go into the match high on confidence winning their last games. While KKR comprehensively beat a hapless Pune Warriors, RCB pulled off a thriller against the Delhi Daredevils on Friday. Preview via PTI